Live from the London Olympics: Wednesday, July 25

Join our reporter and London native Christina Boyle for an inside look at the 2012 Summer Games.

Join us behind-the-scenes at the five-ring circus that is the London Olympics with Daily News reporter Christina Boyle - a London native - acting as tour guide. We'll have live coverage every day of the 2012 Summer Games.

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by Christina Boylevia mobile

Michelle Obama arrives in London Thursday evening to meet with TeamUSA and attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

The first lady will be in the capital for a whirlwind three-day visit as part of her campaign to fight obesity and get children active.

Part of her trip will include hosting an event with 1,000 American and British students alongside soccer ace David Beckham and members of the 2012 U.S. Track and Field Team.

"This isn't just about sports, it's about being active," the first lady said on a conference call with reporters. The goal is to "turn that Olympic spirit and inspiration into action."

Here's a quick look at Michelle Obama's schedule in London:

Friday: Breakfast with members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team; Let's Move! event with 1,000 American and British children, and sporting stars; Reception hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace prior to the opening ceremony.

An extra 1,200 soldiers, sailors and airmen have just been drafted to help guard London during the Olympics.

The addition will bring the total military presence in the capital to 18,200 during the global sporting event.

Private contractor G4S was supposed to provide 10,400 security staff but will now supply just over half that number after a massive blunder left the company inadequately prepared.

Police and military personnel with guns can already be seen patrolling around London as the city becomes a massive potential terrorist target.

by Christina Boylevia mobile

Celebrated graffiti artist Banksy has created two new Olympic-themed pieces of art - but won't reveal where they are located.

The mystery spray painter posted pictures of a javelin thrower and pole vaulter on his website.

Each image has a twist, in keeping with Banksy's penchant for making political statements: the first athlete is throwing a missile instead of a javelin, and the second is jumping a barbed wire fence and poised to land on a dirty mattress.

by Christina Boyle

U.S. Olympic shooter Kim Rhode’s puppy nearly jeopardized her flight to London 2012 – by eating her plane ticket.

The Gold medal winner said her four-month-old toy poodle chewed up the document before her Monday flight, nearly hampering her bid to become the first American to win five medals in five consecutive Olympic Games.

“We call him hell on wheels,” Rhode said of her dog after training at the Royal Artillery Barracks Wednesday.

“They had to reprint a new [ticket].”

The dog drama was one of many pre-Olympic mishaps to befall the TeamUSA member.

First, a series of plane delays and cancellations forced her to jet straight to London from the U.S., instead of joining her teammates in Denmark.

Then her husband lost his passport. After frantically searching every possible hiding spot, the couple eventually spotted the passport in a hidden pocket of a bag they had already checked five times.

“I know it sounds crazy, but I have the pictures to prove it really happened," Rhode said "It's not just an excuse."

Rhode was schedules to fly to Denmark Friday to meet her shooting teammates for pre-Olympic training and bonding.

When she arrived at the airport she was told her flight had been cancelled. She returned Saturday to be told the flight was cancelled again, and the next available flight was Monday – straight to London instead of via Denmark.

"I know they're having a blast in Denmark,” she said. “They've been to see ZZ Top and some of the big concerts and they've been training really hard."

"There's been a lot of teambuilding going on and they're bummed that I missed that but at the same time they understand there's nothing you can do."

Rhode arrived in London Tuesday night to prepare for her trap and sheet events and was tired, but in good spirits.

“It's been a long couple of days,” she said.

"You can't really let it get to you. If you did you'd be in trouble before you'd even started. I feel tired because I'm jetlagged but I have five or six days to adjust."

"I think that's just part of the Olympics," she added. "It's a journey. You never know what's going to come your way or what you'll have to overcome. You just work through it."

by Christina Boylevia mobile

And the prize for first athlete banned for drugs this week from the Olympic Games goes to... Moroccan middle-distance runner Mariem Alaoui Selsouli, who was a silver medalist at 1500 meters in the World Indoor Championships this year.

Selsouli tested positive for a diuretic, according to urine samples taken on July 6 in Paris.

"Alaoui Selsouli has waived her right to the B analysis," the IAAF announced. "As a result (she) has now been provisionally suspended from all competition in athletics."

Selsouli can appeal the ruling within the next three months and faces a potential lifetime ban if she fails another test. Interestingly, U.S. soccer player Hope Solo failed a test recently for a diuretic and was permitted to compete in the Olympics after she convinced U.S. drug officials that it was a prescribed, premenstrual medication.

In the months leading up to the London Games, more than 100 athletes were banned from potential Olympic participation after testing positive for PEDs, according to World Anti-Drug Agency chief John Fahey.

Fahey on Wednesday said that "at least 107 athletes were sanctioned," though he couldn't predict how many of them would have qualified for the Olympics. WADA began in-competition testing here in London when the Athletes' Village was openend on July 16. Since then, more than 300 drug tests have been applied with no positive results. More than 6,000 tests will be given during the course of the Olympics.

"These efforts in the lead-up to the Games are bearing fruit," Fahey said.

The trend is hopeful, when it comes to positive tests during the Olympic competition period. There were 26 positives in Athens, just 20 in Beijing - including six horses.

- By Filip Bondy

by websports

The strike by border guards which threatened to cripple London's Heathrow airport on the eve of the Olympics has been called off.

The Public and Commercial Services union said the 24 hour walk out has been suspended.

Britain's Home Office welcomed the news.

by Christina Boylevia mobile

Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristou has been kicked out of the Olympics for a racist Tweet about African immigrants.

The 23-year-old is the first athlete to be disciplined for offensive posts on social media during the Games.

She was banned from traveling to London after writing: "With so many Africans in Greece, the West Nile mosquitoes will be getting home food!!!"

Papachristou has since apologized publicly but remains expelled from the Greek Olympic team.

More here: www.nydailynews.com (link)

by Christina Boylevia mobile

Frank Isola is reporting that North Korea apparently won't take the field for its women's soccer match vs. Colombia because the South Korean flag is flying in Hampden Park in Glasgow.

The match was supposed to start 20 minutes ago. A small group of North Korean fans have left. Fans here are booing.

An announcement was just made in the stadium for the delay saying "there is an issue behind the scenes."

The U.S. is scheduled to play North Korea in Manchester, England next week.

Stay tuned ...

by websports

Update: The issue is that when North Korea took the field the scoreboard was showing the flag of South Korea. The scoreboard has been corrected. - Isola

by websports

UPDATE: The public address announcer is giving the starting lineups for North Korea but no one is on the field. - Isola

by websports

Update: Both teams just took the field for warmups 45 minutes after the match was supposed to begin - Isola

by websports

Apparently, the North Koreans are objecting to the fact that when they walk out of the tunnel they see the flag of the Republic of Korea flying from the stadium. The North Korean flag is flying as well, as all the flags of the teams in the men's and women's soccer competition are displayed. They were also upset that the Republic of Korea flag was mistakenly shown on the scoreboard. - Isola

by websports

This just in: Mariel Zagunis, two-time gold medal winner in fencing, will be the flag bearer for the U.S. in the London 2012 opening ceremony Friday.

by Christina Boylevia mobile

Once again, the U.S. has selected a relatively obscure athlete to be flag bearer. Mariel Zagunis is a two-time gold medal winner in fencing, but she's not Misty May-Treanor, Michael Phelps, Abby Wambach or LeBron James. And she's one of the few fencers not from New York.

by Filip Bondy

Olympic lanes came into effect across London Wednesday, bringing unwelcome gridlock to parts of the city and hefty fines for drivers who veer into them.

Roughly 10 miles of road became off limits to regular cars with a further 20 miles of tarmac set to be added this weekend.

The lanes will be out of bounds to anyone except VIPs from 6 a.m. through midnight until the athletes leave.

Transport bosses said Londoners needed to grin and bear the inconcenience in a city that already grapples with heavy congestion.

"Nobody said the Olympics were without pain and we have asked people to do things differently if they can, and a lot of people have," Transport for London commissioner Peter Hendy said.

Motorists face fines of up to $200 for driving into the lanes which are only open to athletes, officials, journalists, emergency services and games marketing partners.

by Christina Boylevia mobile

Reports of a star-studded Olympic bash hosted by Brangelina with a guest list of A-list celebs failed to materialize Wednesday evening.

The charity gala at the Victoria & Albert museum was touted by British press as the kick-off to London 2012’s party season.

Yet the Hollywood couple failed to appear nor did any of the high-profile names banded around in recent days such as Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Whether the stars bought tickets to the event – held in honor of boxing great Muhammad Ali - but never intended to attend, or did not commit to being there in the first place was not immediately clear.

Among the well-known personalities who did attend were tennis pro Boris Becker (pictured), Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton and Live Aid singer Bob Geldof.